Welcome to The Sloane Letters Project
A pilot of this project, Sir Hans Sloane’s Correspondence Online, was first launched at the University of Saskatchewan in 2010 to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Sir Hans Sloane’s birth. The project was renamed The Sloane Letters Project when it moved to this site in 2016.
The correspondence of Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) consists of thirty-eight volumes held at the British Library, London: MSS 4036-4069, 4075-4078. The letters are a rich source of information about topics such as scientific discourse, collections of antiquities, curiosities and books, patients’ illnesses, medical treatments and family history. Most of the letters were addressed to Sloane, but a few volumes were addressed to others (MSS 4063-4067) or written by Sloane (MSS 4068-4069).
So far, we have entered descriptions and metadata for Sloane MSS 4036-4053 and 4075, as well as several letters from each of the following: Sloane MSS 4054-4055, 4066, 4068-4069 and 4076. Several of these entries also include transcriptions. Further entries and transcriptions are being made available gradually.
Please, explore the website and database. You can search through the letters, learn about Sir Hans Sloane or the letters written to him, and peruse blog posts about interesting letters!
Random Letter
Author:Recipient:
[fol. 301] Sir I have receaved so many Presents from Dr Sloane, that should have long since been acknowledged. I have here inclosed a short account of a Learned book lately published, with great ease and Paine, of such other that Published here, the like Advertisements you shall receive. I desired Dr Gregory to wait upon you, both He and Dr Wallis promise to send you Papers frequently. I cannot meet with Dr Hannes, so as to discourse him fully about this matter. Your Edition of Malpighius is very fair and elegant, and must be very acceptable to all curious persons. You have very honourably done justice to the memory of that excellent Person, who had so particular an Esteem for the Royal Society of England. It is great pity that your Society, the two Universitys, and the Learned part of the City, cannot come to so good an understanding as to enter into some common measures, about taking of Books of Learning, that we might be freed from, depending on the men of Trade, who seldom agree with men of Letters in the same opinion of books. I think you & I did discourse something about a Project of this nature. I should be glad to receave your farther Thoughts at leisure, which upon this or any other subject, shall be extremely welcome to… Your obliged Humble Servant. [ps.] My very humble service to Captain Hutton.
Read more- Letter 0440
Latest Statistics
| Pages digitised | |
| 4,545 | Document summaries |
| Documents transcribed | |
| People | |
| 1,527 | Medical Cases |
| Places |